ArticleBMC plant biology2025
Boosting drought resilience: the role of endophytic Bacillus safensis in enhancing melatonin production in chickpea cultivars.
Article in BMC plant biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Strengthening physiological resilience, osmotic adjustment, and ion homeostasis in water-deficit stressed muskmelon via ACC deaminase-producing rhizobacterial partnership.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2026Article
- Phytomelatonin as a key regulator of drought stress adaptation: signaling networks, microbial interactions, and biotechnological potential.Frontiers in plant science · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Drought stress significantly affects global crop yields, necessitating innovative strategies to enhance plant resilience. This study explored the role of the endophytic bacterium Bacillus safensis COBR7 in promoting melatonin biosynthesis and drought tolerance in two chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars, Samin (drought-tolerant) and ILC3279 (drought-sensitive). Melatonin biosynthesis genes in chickpeas were identified by comparing homologous sequences from closely related species in the NCBI database using the BLASTP method. Four TDC (Tryptophan decarboxylase), two SNAT (Serotonin N-acetyltransferase), seven COMT (Caffeic acid O-methyltransferase), and one ASMT (N-acetylserotonin O-methyltransferase) genes were identified in chickpeas. We examined their expression by real-time PCR under two conditions (inoculated and non-inoculated with bacteria) and three irrigation conditions (control, moderate drought, and severe drought). Inoculation with B. safensis significantly enhanced the expression of ASMT, COMT, and TDC genes, particularly under severe drought stress, with the highest expression levels observed in the inoculated plants. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses revealed that melatonin concentrations increased under drought conditions, with inoculated samples exhibiting higher levels than non-inoculated controls. In this study, drought stress- and treatment-induced changes were observed in other metabolites (amino acids, sugars, and organic acids) in both cultivars. OrthoVenn2-based comparative genomic analysis identified 544 conserved orthologous gene clusters shared between C. arietinum and B. safensis, including stress-responsive genes (e.g., superoxide dismutase, ACC deaminase) and metabolic pathways critical for drought adaptation, such as tryptophan biosynthesis—a precursor for melatonin. These shared clusters suggest a synergistic interaction in which B. safensis COBR7 primes melatonin-mediated drought tolerance in chickpea, potentially through the bacterial provision of tryptophan-derived intermediates or the modulation of plant stress signaling. This highlights COBR7’s role as a bioinoculant to enhance resilience in water-limited agroecosystems.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.